Eastern Freeway to get a link to Nariman PointMMRDA invites consultants to check feasibility of a tunnel connecting southern end of freeway at P ‘dmello road to the business district
Yogesh Naik @timesgroup.com

The Eastern Freeway, one of Mumbai’s most ambitious road projects in decades, may be connected by a tunnel to Nariman Point for seamless east-west c o n n e c t i v i t y. T h e M u m b a i Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the implementing agency for the freeway, has invited consultants to conduct a feasibility study for the east-west connector and the last date for receiving tenders is February 2 next year.
The MMRDA is targeting February 15, 2013 to inaugurate the freeway, but how the traffic landing at its southern end at Orange Gate on P D’Mello Road will be dispersed is a growing concern. The Orange Gate-NarimanPointtunnelcouldtakethevehiclesto the business district without having to negotiate the chaotic south Mumbai traffic.
A senior MMRDA official said that Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan is very keen on the tunnel project as it will also connect the Eastern Freeway to the proposed Nariman Point-Borivali coastal road, thus completing a ring of high-speed dedicated corridor around Mumbai.
ConfirmingthedevelopmentonSaturday, MMRDA Commissioner Rahul Asthana said: “We are appointing consultants for a feasibility study now.” Chief Engineer SM Sabnis said that once a consultant is appointed, it gets three to six months to submit a report.
The 17-km Eastern Freeway connects Ghatkopar to P D’Mello Road and is the first major road development on the city’s eastern seaboard.
The Nariman Point-Borivali coastal road is also in advanced stages of planning. A tunnel underneath Malabar Hill will connect it to the Bandra Worli Sea Link. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation has already planned to extend the sea link to Versova. There are also plans to connect it to Borivali and Vasai through cable-stayed bridges.

MUMBAI: In a significant move to decongest traffic in the western suburbs, the state administration on Monday invited consultants to design a flyover to help traffic avoid the crowded JVPD junction.

"We have floated a tender inviting designs for the proposed flyover as, in the present scenario, JVPD junction gets high huge traffic delaying commuting time by a minimum of 15 minutes,"the disposal by minimum 15 minutes said a senior official with the city's metropolitan administration.

Similarly, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) also wants consultants to design an additional parking facility in Bandra Kurla Complex to reduce parking on the roads in and around the business hub.

According to MMRDA sources, the flyover over the JVPD junction will start on Gulmohar Road and will end towards New Link Road, to help offer direct access to Lokhandwala-bound traffic coming from Western Express highway (WEH).

Currently, traffic from S V Road and Burfiwala flyover comes to Gulmohar Road to go to New Link Road but runs into crosses with the traffic from Juhu, sources said.

"The flyover will provide direct access to traffic between New Link Road and WEH or S V Road. And the Roads under the flyover will cater to traffic from Juhu and Godrej Beach Road," sources said.